Cleaner device for cotton harvesters



- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

G..N. TODD.

GLEANEB. DEVICE FOR GOTTON HAR'VESTERS.

No. 423,542. Patented Mar. 18', 1890.

2 SheetsSheet 2. G. N,- TODD.

CLEANER DEVICE FOR COTTON HARVESTERS.

No. 423,542. Patented Mar. 18, 189Q.'

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE N. TODD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOTHE TODD COTTON HARVESTER COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS.

CLEAN ER DEVICE FOR COTTON-HARVESTERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 423,542, dated March 18, 1890.

' Application filed December 13, 1887- Serial No. 257,762. (No model.) v

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE N. TODD, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Picker-Stem Cleaner Devices for Cotton- Harvesters, of which'the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cleaner devices for removing gathered cotton from the picker-stems ofa cotton-harvester, and is more especially designed as an improvement upon the invention set forth in my application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 218,853, filed by me November 15, 1886. In that application the cleaner devices consisted of disk-like brushes, or else disks having one or both surfaces provided with teeth for engaging the cotton, said disks being caused to rotate in the same di rection, but faster than the picker-stems traveled, by suitable mechanism deriving power from the same mechanism as the pickerstems. This device was intended not only to remove the gathered cotton from the stems during their passage across the face thereof, but also to immediately discharge such cotton into a receptacle located atone side of the 'machine,'so that the cotton engaged by the disks would not be held and carried by them during an entire revolution thereof. Prac-.

tice, howeverg has developed som'eobjections to this styleof cl eaneig 'ch'ief among which is the fact that they create a draft by their rapid revolution,which tendsto blow the cot ton' out of reachof their teeth and to discharge at improper points cotton insecurely engaged by the teeth or lying upon the disks unengaged. With such devices there is also danger of the cotton being carried beyond the discharge-point and being held during one or more revolutions of the disks, in which case it will soon become matted down and render the disk practically useless.

The prime object of this invention is to remove the gathered cotton from pickerstems by means of cleaner devices which shall create a suction or draft tending to draw the cotton into engagement with the teeth thereof, whereby c'otton not actually in the line of travel of the teeth may be brought into engagement therewith and held until properly discharged therefrom.

Another object is to reduce the toothed surface to a minimum number of teethwithout detracting from, but on the contrary promoting, the effectiveness of the device, where- -by matting down of the cotton is pretending to blow the cotton out of reach of the teeth, but on the contrary will produce acurrent or suction toward said teeth, which will bring within reach of the teeth cotton normally out of their line of travel.

A still further object is to combine such a cleaner device with a cotton-harvester soconstructed that the draft created by the device will be utilized to aid the centrifugal force thereof in discharging the cotton into the receiving-chamber of the machine at a proper point, whereby the danger of cloggin g the device is avoided.

I attain these obj ectsby devices illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 represents lan view of a cleaner device embodying my ifive ntion; Fig. 2, a sec tional elevation thereof, the dotted lines indicating the position of picker-stems relative to the cleaner device while being cleaned; Fig. 3, a detail perspective view of one of the wings; Fig. 4-, a plan View of -a portion of a cotton-harvester, showing my cleaner device applied thereto; Fig. 5, a rear elevation of one half or section thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate th same parts in the several figures of the draw- 1ngs.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates a rotatable vertical 5 shaft j ournaled in the frame of a cotton-har- Vester to which power is communicated in any well-known and convenient manner, the power being regulated so that the cleaner devices carried by said shaft may rotate in proper time relative to the movement of the pickerstems A, arranged in tiers across the faces of the cleaners, also arranged in tiers alternating with the picker-stems, said. stems generally being driven by the same power as that of the cleaner devices with suitable gear-connections between them. Keyed to this shaft at regular intervals are a series of circular plates or disks B, having hubs 0, through but different planes, both vertically and horizontally, and are connected by an inclined portion G,'which extendsfrom the rear-edge of the upper part E down to the front-edge of .the lower part F, or inclines downwardly and toward .itherearwith relation to the direction of rotation of the cleaner-that is, in the reverse direction thereto.

. comes in contact with and is secured to the disk. The upper part E of said arm has teeth H cut therein, or independent teeth secured thereto; forengagiu g the cotton. uponthestems as the latter are passed across the'face of the cleaner, which teeth are, however, preferably angularor inclined toward the free endsof the frames-,in order that theymayoffer no substantial resistance. to the centrifugal force of the rapidly-revolving cleaner, by which-in. a great measure the cotton is in turn discharged from the cleaner. The part G of the arms, being inclined forwardly toward-the upper edge thereof in the direction of rotation of the cleaner, acts likethe wings of a fan or wind mill, and not only directs the air with which it comes in contact. downwardly, but by such action creates a current of air toward it from above similarto an exhaust-fan.

In applying my device to acotton-harvester a number of the devices are arranged intiers upon a .vertical shaft, whi ch in turn is journaled in the harvester-frame just forward of the picker-stem support I, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and, to one side of the central way or passage, through which the cotton-plants pass, so thatthe stems in their travel will pass between the-devices and across the toothed face thereof. As this invention has no particular reference tothe detailed construction of the cotton-harvester, except the cleaner devices, these views, Figs. 4 and 5, are intended simply as diagrams for showing the relative location of the parts with which the cleaners co-operate;

hence the picker-stem support is shown as a rotatable cylinder with picker-stems proj ecting radially therefrom, the whole partially The lower portion- F only surroundedby a shield J, securedto'the frame, which also partially 1 surrounds the cleaner, and therefore constitutes one wall of a chamber in which the stems and cleaners work. I11 the forward wall of this chamber is formed an opening K, leading to the cotton-receiving chamber, in which a traveling toothed-beltL works in an inclinedplane, by means of which the cotton is elevatedand discharged therefrom into bags or other receptacles provided for that purpose, as clearly set forth in detail in an application for Letters Patent of the United States filed by me January 1, 1887, Serial No. 224,684.

It will be seen by the arrows in Fig. 4 that the picker-stems and cleaner devices both revolve toward ,theopeningK in said chamber, thereby-producing a, general current. of v air in said. chamber, which cannot, escape until it reaches thesaid opening, thereby tending to carry with ,it through the opening all the cotton released from the picker-stems, thus materially aiding the, centrifugal .force. of: :the cleaner devices, and the downward tendency of the air-current produced by such devices 1 tends to drive ,thecottondirectlyintolthecarrier in the cotton-receiving chamber.

Having described my invention,, what I claim,and desireto secure by Letters Patent, 1s s 1. The combin ation,with a.cotton;harve$ter,

of a rotatable cleaner, deviceconsisting'ofradialtoothed arms .provided..,-with wings ,de-

pending from-the toothed portion thereof and incliningtotherear or in reverse direction to the rotation of said device, substantially as described.

- 2. .In acotton-harvester, the combination of averticalrotatable, shaft, and a cleaner device consisting of disks secured to said shaft providedwith radial arms,said arms ,each

consisting of a toothed bar and wing depending and inclining rearwardly from the toothed .portion thereof, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a cotton-harvester, of the travelingpickenstems arranged in tiers, a cotton-receiving chamber adjacentthereto, a shield partiallysulgrounding said stems, rotatable cleaner devices arranged in tier a1- ternatin'g with said tiers of stems and located between the stems and receiving-chamber, said devices being provided with toothedarms andwingsinclining downwardly and rearwardly-from the toothed portion thereof,substantiallyas described.

GEORGE N.. TODD. 

